Things the Oregon militia is big on: guns, hating the government, “liberty.”
Things it is not so big on: planning, foresight, irony.
At least, that seems like a reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the group’s widely publicized Facebook appeal for the most basic of supplies, including “cold weather socks, snacks, energy drinks, equipment for cold weather, snow camo, gear.” A response to the apparently not-so-well-regulated militia’s call for help was answered by PETA, aka People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
According to its Twitter and website, PETA staffers appeared in-person at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to hand out vegan jerky to the militia members. Seeing as how some of those now pleading for donations are cattle ranchers, PETA staffers also came bearing signs that read “The End (of Animal Agriculture) Is Nigh: Get Out Now!”
The Daily Dot spoke with Lindsay Rajt, who serves as PETA’s associate director of campaigns and hand delivered the jerky. She told the site that “none of them had ever tried such a thing before” and that “[o]ne man described himself as a die-hard carnivore and told me he thought it tasted like salmon."
It’s worth remembering that when they initially arrived at the wildlife refuge, there was a lot of big talk from militia members, including seeming spokesperson Ammon Bundy, who also happens to be the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. Bundy told the Oregonian that the group is "planning on staying here for years” and that “[t]his is not a decision [they’d] made at the last minute." You’d think they would’ve packed for it — because I can only imagine how much these guys complain about the “nanny state” and “socialism” and people asking for “handouts” — but looks like not.
As you might expect, PETA is getting a lot of flak for aiding and abetting armed terrorists, but really, who should be suprised by the shenanigans of a group that has proved it will do anything for publicity in recent years? After all, they’ve already exploited the Holocaust and slavery, dressed up as Klan members, and used every misogynist tool in the name of PR. And as Wonkette points out, PETA has allegedly killed roughly 2,000 “unadoptable” animals every year for the last 15 years.
In any case, you can see photos of the meeting between PETA and the militia members in pictures here.
